Chapter 5 - King of the Forest

Rider and I make it back inside the mansion. I notice Archer and Assassin waiting for me. They probably done with scanning the area. The first floor of my mansion is pretty much empty. I did not bother to furnish it since I needed to save gold coins to work on my staff. The four of us are gathered here. I tell Rider to get Saber and Caster. I want everyone to be updated on the info so we all can be on the same page. Best to be safe than sorry. It is not cowardice. It is being tactical.

While waiting for everyone to gather. I notice the scent of leaves. More like the smell of the forest coming from Archer and Assassin. This only gives me confirmation we truly are in another world and not in some game. After waiting four minutes the other three NPCs finally arrive and we can start the meeting. I tell Archer to let everyone know what she saw and discovered in the forest.

“Okay boss!! Well when I entered the forest using [Wide-Scan]. There was no signs of people other than beasts. At the very least there were no people within five miles of the mountain. I did a round trip around to make sure.” –Archer

“Fumu, so did you also check the village that I saw from the entrance of the mansion?” –Dasas

“Oh I sure did boss. It seems to be a human settlement as I saw no other races.” –Archer

“Since we are limited on information. I was thinking of heading to that human village tomorrow. What does everyone else think?” –Dasas

“I’ll follow you master. To ensure your safety.” –Saber

“If you need me chief. I’ll tag along with you to the ends of hell.” –Rider

“AHHhh…ohhOh My eye aches!! The darkness shows leader’s will is the will of the darkness.” –Caster

“…………………………” –Assassin

“Assassin says she will do as her lord tells. As for me boss. I’m with you all the way. You will need my guidance to get out of this forest.” –Archer

“Fumu since it's night now everyone should take a rest. We’ll move out to the village in the morning. I will have at least two people to stay back on the mountain for security.” –Dasas

Everyone agrees and they all start to head up the third floor to their respective rooms. I also head up to my own room on the third floor. Once I got to my room I notice how barren it looks. A simple bronze bed for a single person and a simple wooden table on the side. All the bedrooms are pretty much furnished the same since furniture is expensive and I needed to save my gold coins for my staff.

Spent three years on a budget when working on my Khatvanga staff. I had very few luxuries during that time. I lay down on my bed which is somewhat firm yet soft so it is good enough to sleep in. With the anticipation for tomorrow’s journey it took a while for me to finally fall asleep.

I open my eyes to see an unfamiliar white wooden ceiling. It took me awhile to realize that what happen yesterday is real and this is no dream. I gave out a slight depressing sigh and get up to start preparing for the journey.

The thing I notice when I got up was the hunger. I felt and realize I have not eaten anything yesterday. Do gods need to eat too? I am still new to my position so there is so much I need to figure out.

I try taking out one of the foods I have in my character’s inventory from the game that give bonuses to stats and such. From the storage I took out a cheese sandwich since you can never go wrong with one. I bite into it and while chewing notice there is no taste or flavor at all. I can somewhat feel the soft texture of the sandwich but there is virtually no flavor. Disappointed that using the game food to relieve hunger might be a bad idea.

With the bland breakfast out of the way. I made sure to remind myself to either get food supplies in the village or hunt and gather it on my own from the forest. I doubt my gold coins from the game will work in this world so best to use something else to barter with. I will decide once I get to the village and learn what is useful to trade for supplies.

In the game the NPCs will always follow behind me in a neat straight line automatically. Now that is not possible with them being alive. Left my room I first make my way down to the first floor and see if anyone else is up. If they are it should be at the front entrance of the mansion. I reach the first floor and notice everyone is already gathering at the entrance. Looks like I am last one and makes me sad they had to wait for my lazy ass.

“Fumu, so since we are all ready and gathered. Is anyone hungry?” –Dasas

“My stomach is gonna cave in boss if I don’t get some food!!” –Archer

“Yea chief. I could surely use a meal.” –Rider

“I do require sustenance master.” –Saber

“Ku ku ku. Leader. I cannot keep the darkness at bay without some blood sacrifices.” –Caster

Assassin keep nodding her head up and down. I take out five cheese sandwiches from my inventory and let them know these will have to do until we can collect supplies. Not to mention my mansion does not even have a kitchen. Something I will have to rectify in the future.

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“I will have Assassin and Caster watch the house. The rest of us will proceed towards the village. Is that okay with everyone?” –Dasas

Everyone approves of the plan so I, Saber, Archer, and Rider went down the steps of my mountain and head into the forest. Once inside the forest. I look up at the pinewood trees and admire the scene. The big old trees were showing their years of existence without human interference.

A very rare sight in the original world I came from. Most of the great forests and jungles disappeared. I am no tree-hugger but it is still a little sad such beautiful views are no longer possible. After wandering around and following the lead of Archer through the forest. We were almost halfway there without encountering any ferocious beasts. Probably thanks to Archer.

“Boss there is a huge beast up ahead do you wish to engage? Or avoid it and go around?” –Archer

“Fumu lets engage it. Test our abilities. We need to get familiar with fighting in this new world.” –Dasas

“Understood boss. It is only about one hundred meters or so ahead of us. We should come upon it very soon.” –Archer

Everyone becomes vigilant and start to ready their weapons. I take out my staff from the inventory and be ready for anything since I am unsure how strong the beast is. Once we reach the area where the beast is said to be. I saw it is a huge boar like monster. I could not be sure to even call it a boar with such a monstrous appearance. 

The monster is twice the size of an elephant. Huge dirty ivory tusks sticking upwards from the bottom of its jaw and large protruding spikes all over its back. The tail was long with a ball of spikes at the end. It looks more like a dangerous dinosaur than any boar I saw pictures of online.

I wonder if my [Scan] ability works in this world. A skill every player has in the game to identify name, title, and level of most living creatures so just the basic info. I use [Scan] on the monstrosity before me.

Forest Boar Variant - King of the Forest - Level 33

Well shit are you kidding me? Only level thirty three and with such a boss monster like appearance. Only a small fry. This is probably a low level forest if this is considered the king here.

Best to be vigilant even if my scan says its only level thirty three. I am unsure if it is the same as the game in the power scheme. Okay king of the forest let us see how tough you are. I then test [Scan] on my NPCs to see if it works on people.

Saber – Paladin – Apostle of Dasas – Level 200

Archer – Ranger – Apostle of Dasas – Level 180

Rider - Beastmaster – Apostle of Dasas – Level 120

Well snap. My NPCs are titled as my apostles. They are considered as my followers or kin maybe. I wonder if being an apostle gives any nice benefits. Anyway I should concentrate on the battle before me and not have any other distractions.

“Everyone battle formations!” –Dasas

Saber moves up in front and Archer moves to the back. I line up with her and then I see Rider move forward. Rider summons his pet sabertooth tiger. When it appears with a mighty roar the boar move back a few big sounding steps in wariness.

“Fumu, Saber attack and be sure to cast [Shield Barrier].” –Dasas

“As you command my master….Ooooo” –Saber

Saber gives out a battle cry as she launches herself at the monster. With a single swipe of Saber’s sword the mighty beast let out a deafening cry that made my ear hurt. Then there was a large earthquake like rumble as the monster fell to the ground bleeding profusely looking dead.

“Enemy neutralized master.” –Saber

“Eh?” –Dasas

Well that was anticlimactic to say the least. I guess in the end it was really just a small fry. Best to be cautious at first to make sure since it was a test. We should skin it and take the meat. Who knows maybe the hide might be worth something in town.

I remember watching a hunting documentary on boars. Boar meat will taste bad if it the boar died in an excited state. I just hope it does not apply to monsters, but then is monster meat edible in this world? This is not a game after all. Best to check later to make sure. We finish up field dressing the boar and then proceed to the village.